Two Years
by brightmelodies
Summary: "And when you're back, I'll say, you've gotten so damn ugly, but I still love you." A promise to wait for Lavi was made when he left. Two years later he returns, wondering if she kept that promise. LavixFem!Allen


"_Two years. Two years, and if you still love her… You can go find her. But only this once!" Bookman coughed awkwardly and looked away, scowling. "Since you two love each other so much, it seems."_

_Love. Love that had been up to this point, forbidden._

Now, two years later after that had been said, he was stepping into the town.

"_I… can… can you wait for me?" He stuttered awkwardly. His green eye darted to her and was caught by her grey ones._

"_Geez," she said. She smiled, but it was a smile that made her look like she was about to laugh and cry at the same time. "You know I'm not a patient person."_

_She put a finger to his lips as he made to speak. "But I think… just this once, I can wait."_

_His face lit up and tears of joy found their way up into his eye. "I… I – thank you – I – I love you so much." He hugged her tightly, his heart overflowing with relief, joy, love; a goofy smile stretched out widely on his face._

_She wrapped her arms around him and looked up to the sky, lips quivering, eyes tearing up. "I'll be waiting… for however long it takes… I promise I'll wait for you, forever."_

Now, two years later after that promise was made, he was walking down the road.

"_Don't you forget about me," he teased, trying to hide the pain in his heart. His eye took in everything about her; her grey eyes, her white hair, her slim figure, her knobby hands. "And don't let the first thing outta your mouth be tellin' me I look fifty years older than when you last saw me."_

"_You look fifty years older than yesterday already," she replied, running a hand through his flaming hair. Her eyes searched his face hungrily, memorizing every mark, every detail, every color. "The first thing I'll say is 'you look so fucking hot.'"_

"_As you should," he said, grinning stupidly. He cupped her face with his hands and looked into her eyes one last time._

"_Or maybe it'll be, 'you've gotten so damn ugly, but I still love you,'" she said, tears gathering in her eyes._

"_I'll miss you."_

"_I'll love you."_

_They kissed, drew back, and finally let the tears fall._

"_I love you."_

"_I love you, too."_

"_Forever."_

_They shared one last burning kiss that lasted for too short a time before he turned around and left with Bookman, leaving her to wait._

Now, two years later after that painful departure, he was walking through a field. There was a fresh scent in the air, a sky in which the sun shone brightly, a lone deer grazing in the grass that reached up to his waist. He made his way slowly through the grass, as if he had all the time in the world – he had waited two years, and he wanted to be ready.

Then he was in a green, lively forest. Birds flitted from branch to branch, watching him curiously. Squirrels stopped and scolded him boldly. Deer paused in their meals and stared at him with wide, dark eyes. He stopped and stared back at the deer.

"Will she remember me?" he blurted out. He realized what he was talking to and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Aw, geez, what am I doin' talking to a bunch of deer…"

_Will she still remember me?_

The friendly atmosphere soon changed. While the path before was clear, bright and unhampered, the trail ahead was dark and foreboding. Branches raked his skin and blocked his way, as if wanting to stop him from proceeding. Brambles were lined thickly with thorns that tugged and pricked the fabric of his pants, as if telling him to go stop, to go back. The squirrels had stopped chattering, the birds had stopped singing; there was no noise in this part of the forest except for his boots breaking through dead wood and branches. But he would not stop, for at the end of the trail, she would be waiting…

A white doe stepped out onto the narrow trail in front of him, looking at him with wide, sad eyes that pierced through him. He stopped, playing with the scarf that hung around his neck; the scarf he had worn back at the Black Order when he was still an exorcist.

"Will she love me?"

He smiled wryly, noticing that he was only talking to a white doe.

_Will she still love me?_

He felt nervous for some reason, as he walked forward towards the doe. His heart thumped loudly, and he started shaking. The doe turned and walked forward, as if leading the way. He followed.

_The first thing I'll say,_ he thought,_ will be "I'm back!"_

His eye was fixed on the doe that still led the way along the trail.

"_You remember me, right? I didn't get unrecognizably hot. It's Lavi!"_

_And then I'll say, "Did you wait long?"_

The forest was getting lighter and the songs of the birds had returned. The doe shone a bright white briefly as it stepped through a patch of sunlight. His eye watered, and he took a deep, shaky breath.

"_I kept the name Lavi just for you." Then I'll laugh and say, "I love you."_

He was suddenly in a small clearing by himself, sun pouring down on him and the small patch of moss and the small stone cross that was stuck in the ground. He walked forward, tears gathering in his eye, blurring everything in the clearing. He fell to his knees in front of the cross, tears finally spilling from his eyes.

"I'm back," he whispered, reaching out with a shaking hand. His fingertips hovered centimeters away from the new stone.

Tears landed on the small plaque at the bottom of the cross that read: "Here lies Allen Walker."

"Did you wait long?" he said, his voice shaking. His hand touched the cross, then gripped it tightly.

A small note had been tacked to the ground beside the plaque "As requested, we engraved her final words."

"Y-You remember me, right?" he choked out, tears running down his cheek. He shut his eye and cried, "I-I didn't get unrecognizably hot. I-It's Lavi!"

It hurt so much. His heart was breaking, it was being torn apart; the world had stopped.

"I kept the name Lavi… just for you," he wept. His grip tightened; the stone dug into his hand and his knuckles shone white.

He opened his eye and through the tears read the words on the plaque. "I'll wait forever. I love you."

He laughed brokenly, insanely, laughs mingling in with sobs. He rested his head on the cold plaque, closing his eye, letting the tears slip down.

It was cold. So cold. He wished he had hugged her one more time. He wished he had kissed her one more time. He wished he had touched her, ruffled her hair, spent more time with her… Sobs racked his body, the only noise in the otherwise silent clearing.

"I love you."

"I'll remember you… forever."


End file.
